Conventional shelf units are well known and serve a wide variety of purposes such as, for example, storage and display of goods in residential and commercial applications. Typically, shelf units include a number of horizontally-oriented shelves attached perpendicularly to vertical or diagonal supports and positioned parallel one above the other. The attachment of the shelves to the supports is traditionally accomplished by way of various hardware components, including brackets and/or metal fasteners such as, for example, nails or screws. Additional hardware components such as washers or other spacers may also be required.
The use of hardware components in conventional shelf units, however, requires the shelves and supports to have minimum thicknesses sufficient to receive a nail or screw, for example. If a shelf or support does not meet the minimum thickness requirement, then the nail or screw may not be driven through enough material to sufficiently retain the nail or screw in place. In addition, a shelf or support which does not meet the minimum thickness requirement may fracture or otherwise fail when a nail or screw is driven therethrough. In some instances, the minimum thicknesses of the shelves and supports required to accommodate the hardware components may be more than the minimum thicknesses required to support a target load capacity of the shelf unit. Therefore, the use of hardware components requires the shelves and supports to be constructed of more material than may otherwise be necessary.
In addition, the use of hardware components often complicates and lengthens the shelf unit assembly process. Many conventional shelf units are purchased in a disassembled state, and are assembled by the end-user at the end-user's home, office, or place of business. Therefore, the individual assembling the shelf unit is typically an average person without any assembly or manufacturing expertise. In many instances, the use of a variety of hardware components can cause delay, confusion, and/or frustration, and a mistake in placing hardware may irreversibly damage the shelf unit. Therefore, the use of hardware components requires the end-user to expend significant time and effort when assembling the shelf unit.
There exists a need for a shelf unit that addresses these and other challenges of the prior art.